Digable Planets
Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Thursday, March 6th
If Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have taught us anything, besides that the world could do with less billionaires, it’s this: you can’t buy cool.
From their stage presence to the funky live-band reinterpretations of their inventive jazz-rap, tonight’s performance is ample proof that American hip-hop trio Digable Planets – Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira, and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving – would be cool whether they had Jeff Bezos’s bank account or not a single cent to their name.
That cool is matched by the five-piece band backing them on stage: guitarist Thaddeus Turner, bassist Gerald Turner, keyboardist Darrius Willrich, drummer Ehssan “Ace” Karimi, and saxophonist Carlos Overall, the latter warming up the crowd with a scene-setting sax solo that weaves in elements from Outkast’s “So Fresh, So Clean” and Pharoahe Monch’s East Coast classic “Simon Says” (the coolness heightened by Overall’s ‘Intergalactic Eighties’ outfit of sparkling jacket and mirrored sunglasses).
The core trio of Butler, Irving, and Vieira receive a hero’s welcome from the crowd (particularly the latter, who receives enthusiastic cheers every time she raps), a testament to the timelessness of their two beloved albums, 1993’s Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) and 1994’s cerebral, boundary-pushing Blowout Comb.
From the outset, it’s clear Digable Planets have no interest in playing pre-recorded backing tracks (as per your typical hip-hop show), or dishing out reverent renditions of their catalogue. Although songs are recognisable – “The May 4th Movement”, “It’s Good to Be Here”, and “Pacifics” are early highlights – there’s an exploratory looseness to them, with welcome deviations into alternative rhyme routines and moments of improvisation.
There’s plenty of playful surprises, too: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” gets paired with rhymes from Digable’s song “Where I’m From”; there’s a fun cover of “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang, and a tribute to jazz-funk virtuoso Roy Ayers, who passed away two days prior to the show, via a rendition of his song “Searching” (a fitting moment considering Digable Planets have frequently sampled Ayers).
Grammy-winning 1993 hit “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” gets an expected rapturous reception once it arrives, but it’s testament to Digable Planets and their skilled band that it’s one of several highlights, and clear proof that shows may be a brief moment in time, but cool lasts forever.
Check out Digable Planets’ upcoming tour dates here. Read our in-depth interview with the group here.
